Greenpeace wraps up ship tour, tells Brussels to support full ban on tuna fishing

The Greenpeace activists were directly involved in actions against tuna vessels belonging to the Ta’ Mattew company, where they were repelled by the Armed Forces of Malta.

They turned down a request by the anti-poaching group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, to join in an action the Sea Shepherd took against two tuna vessels belonging to the Fish And Fish company. The past week has been dominated by the conservationists who took the fishing farmers head-on, and even managed to free 800 tuna which they claim had been illegally caught.

“Bluefin tuna stocks in the Mediterranean are estimated to be 80% below original levels. Scientists warn that the bluefin crisis is so severe that if all fishing of the species is not stopped, stocks face collapse,” Greenpeace campaigner Oliver Knowles said.

“Therefore Greenpeace took action against all bluefin tuna fishing this year, including illegal fishing and legally registered vessels. Greenpeace has been out on the high seas taking action to save bluefin tuna because governments have so far failed to do so,” Knowles said.

The group say stocks are now so endangered that no fishing ships should have left port this year. “The species’ only chance of survival is a full-scale ban on all bluefin fishing until stocks recover.”

The European Commission ended the EU purse-seining fishing season early this year as vessels fished so intensively they reached their quota in just a few days – non EU vessels were able to continue fishing for a further week up till June 15.

Greenpeace urged the EU to follow up on a commitment for a full-scale ban on tuna fishing. “All countries, including EU fishing nations France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus must endorse the closure of the fishery until stocks recover, and support the permanent protection of bluefin spawning grounds at the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).”

Greenpeace wants ICCAT to implement a zero-catch quota so that all fishing of Bluefin tuna is stopped until tuna stocks have recovered.